Javad Ameri (1891 – 10 January 1980; better known as Mirza Javad Khan Ameri) was an Iranian politician. He served as member of Parliament for Semnan and Dameghan from 1944 until 1953. He was previously acting minister of foreign affairs, minister of justice and minister of the interior.

Early life

Ameri was born in Semnan, Iran, in 1891. After the death of his father Mirza Abol-Hassan Khan (Moinolmamalek), when encroachments by rival families against his family and their estates increased, Gohar Khanoum, Ameri's mother, moved her family of three sons and one daughter (Nayereh, Javad, Mehdi and Massoud) to

Teheran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District. With a population of around 9.8 million in the city as of 2025, ...

. Ameri, who belonged to a learned family, started his schooling at the age of five. He continued his elementary and secondary education in Teheran, attending the well-known Aghdassieh School. He then attended the Advanced School of Political ScienceEnayat, Hadi, Law, State, and Society in Modern Iran: Constitutionalism, Autocracy, and Legal Reform, 1906-1941, Palgrave Macmillan, Page 95 – at the time one of two schools of higher education in Teheran, the other one being the famous Dar-Ol-Fonoon. In order to continue his studies, Ameri left Iran for France and studied law at the Sorbonne, finishing his studies at the age of 23. This coincided with the beginning of World War I and the forced repatriation of foreign students from France.

Career

On the insistence of Adolphe Perney, the French legal advisor to the Iranian Ministry of Justice, Ameri accepted to enter the service of the Ministry and act as Perney's deputy. In 1919, Nosratoddoleh Firouz, the minister of justice, decided to establish an Advanced School of Law in order to provide the department and the legal profession with qualified personnel and competent lawyers, respectively. Since Perney did not speak Persian, the main burden of establishing the School fell on Ameri's shoulders. While working at the Justice Ministry and assuming the management of the Law School, he also taught a number of courses, including ''Private International Law, Commercial Law'' and ''Criminal Law''. Ameri was rising through the ranks in the Ministry of Justice, but in 1937, the Foreign Minister asked

Rezā Shāh Reza Shah Pahlavi born Reza Khan (15 March 1878 – 26 July 1944) was shah of Iran from 1925 to 1941 and founder of the roughly 53 years old Pahlavi dynasty. Originally a military officer, he became a politician, serving as minister of war an ...

to allow Ameri's transfer to the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

. In the Foreign Ministry, first he replaced the French legal advisor who had previously left Iran. Subsequently, he was appointed Director-General for Internal Affairs, Director-General for Political Matters, Deputy Foreign Minister and finally acting Minister of Foreign Affairs. In 1941, at the time of the

Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran The Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran, also known as the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Persia, was the joint invasion of the neutral Imperial State of Iran by the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union in August 1941. The two powers announced that they w ...

, Ameri was responsible for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and thus played a key role in the subsequent developments. Shortly thereafter, since presence of foreign troops on Iranian soil had caused major internal problems, Rezā Shāh ordered Ameri to assume the responsibilities of the Minister of Interior. After Rezā Shāh's abdication, in one of Ghavam-Saltaneh's cabinets, Ameri became Minister of Justice and subsequently Minister of Interior again. Leaving the service of government, he ran for Parliament and became MP for Semnan and Dameghan. He was reelected to the Parliament three more times (14th to 17th sessions). While he was an MP, Prime Minister Ghavam asked him to join the delegation he was heading to Moscow as No.2. The mission of this delegation was to have discussions with

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

in order to arrange an end to the continued occupation of Azarbaijan by the Soviet Union. After the 1953 coup against the legal government of the day, headed by Dr. Mossaddegh, the Shah prevented Ameri from running for Parliament again. Returning to government service Ameri assumed the positions of Attorney-General (Prosecutor-General) and Ambassador to Austria, retiring in 1960. Ameri died in Teheran on 10 January 1980 at the age of 89.

Personal life

In 1935, Ameri had a son, Houshang.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ameri, Mirza Javad Khan 1891 births 1980 deaths University of Paris alumni Iranian expatriates in France People from Semnan, Iran Members of the 14th Iranian Majlis Members of the 15th Iranian Majlis Members of the 16th Iranian Majlis Members of the 17th Iranian Majlis